In the second edition of this classic book, Dyer analyses culture from royalty to serial killers, political correctness and films.

The Matter of Images explores what representation means, analyzing images in terms of why they matter, what they are made of and the material realities they refer to. Richard Dyer moves from considerations of strongly negative representations of out groups to representations of dominant groups in society-men, heterosexuals, whites. His discussion encompasses the eclectic texts of contemporary culture, from royalty to dykes, politically correct labels, representations of Empire and films such as Gilda, Papillon, and Night of the Living Dead. This second edition features a new article on serial killers, along with a new introduction.